Sustainable partnership
DEKRA and UNICEF: Working together for clean water and future prospects
The testing, inspection and certification organization DEKRA and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, are joining forces to provide children in Ethiopia and India with clean drinking water and make their communities more resilient to the impact of climate change. The partnership was announced at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC).
The aim of the partnership is to ensure sustainable access to clean and affordable drinking water for around 860,000 children and their families in Ethiopia and India. Over the next five years, DEKRA will support UNICEF with a total of five million euros. "At DEKRA, safety has been our mission for 100 years – but, in today's changing world, we need to embrace a broader definition of safety, which includes protection from the impacts of accelerating climate change," said Stan Zurkiewicz, CEO of DEKRA, during the announcement of the partnership in Hamburg. "This is exactly where our cooperation with UNICEF begins. Together, we are creating safety where it is needed most. In doing so, we are helping to protect the future of children in a changing world and open up new opportunities for them."
Clean water for better living conditions
Access to clean drinking water is essential for children's health and survival, but according to UNICEF, over 450 million children worldwide live in regions with high levels of water insecurity. Roughly every two minutes, a child dies from a disease caused by contaminated water. This new partnership contributes to UNICEF’s ‘Water Security for All’ initiative, which aims to improve the living conditions of particularly vulnerable population groups through innovative, climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene programs.
“Children are the least responsible for the world’s water and climate crisis, yet they shoulder the greatest burden of its impact”, said Kitty van der Heijden, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships. “Investing in water security is one of the most powerful opportunities of today, for children, for economies, and for the future of the planet. While mitigation is essential for long-term climate stability, it is not enough. Adaptation tackles the impacts already happening now, and businesses have a vital role to play in helping to close this gap, as DEKRA is demonstrating through their critical support of our WASH programs.”
Partnership with impact – locally and globally
Funding from the partnership will be used on solar-powered water pumps, the establishment of technical competence centers to enable learning, knowledge sharing and exchange on solar energy technologies, and also for the integration of innovative technology into groundwater treatment programs. These activities not only help communities to adapt to climate change, but also promote education, health and local development opportunities. The impact of the partnership is measured and reported using sustainable development indicators based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
New approach to corporate climate responsibility at DEKRA
The partnership with UNICEF is part of the DEKRA Climate Impact Program, which DEKRA launched to mark its 100th anniversary. Through this program, the company is taking climate responsibility by combining ambitious, science-based internal decarbonization along the 1.5°C target with the targeted support of external projects that demonstrate measurable climate impact. In doing so, DEKRA deliberately goes beyond traditional compensation models and generic “climate neutrality” claims in favor of an impact-driven approach. “The DEKRA Climate Impact program is a strong example of how companies can take meaningful responsibility for the global challenges of climate change. For us, the partnership with UNICEF is a key element of this commitment,” said Stan Zurkiewicz.
The launch of the partnership will be celebrated at DEKRA's 100th anniversary celebrations in Berlin on July 3.
- DEKRA Press Release UNICEF Partnership (PDF, 89 KB)
- DEKRA CEO Stan Zurkiewicz (right) and Christian Schneider, Executive Director of UNICEF Germany, announcing the partnership at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. (JPG, 1 MB)
- The aim of the partnership between DEKRA and UNICEF is to ensure a sustainable supply of clean and affordable drinking water for around 860,000 children and their families in Ethiopia and India. (JPG, 1 MB)